Ryobi/Home Depot 5-year warranty on Ryobi 40-volt

5-Year Warranty. Register your RYOBI 40V Lithium-ion tool within 30 days of purchase and RYOBI will officially extend the warranty for TWO ADDITIONAL YEARS. ALL RYOBI 40V Lithium-ion Tools purchased on or after January 1, 2014 qualify. Please retain your receipt as proof of purchase for use of the warranty.

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Better read this and comply fully, because you'll definitely need the warranty. The Ryobi 40v batteries and chargers will probably need frequent replacement.

Two years ago, I bought a Ryobi 40V hedge trimmer and a leaf blower. The durability of the machines is yet unknown, because they don't get enough use to know how they'd last; details follow.

The first charger went TU within a month. Home Depot will not replace just the charger, so I had to return the entire hedge trimmer package for a replacement. The battery went TU within three months. Returned for a new package. Charger went TU, returned for a new package.

The blower charger went TU within six months; returned for a new package. The battery on that new package lasted three months. It just went TU today.

Bottom line - I have virtually new trimmer and blower often unusable when needed because the battery/charger lifespan is in weeks; months at the longest. I've made so many trips to HD, I'm tired of the place. They will give you new ones if you bring in all the complete unit with receipt and proof of registration, otherwise "Sorry; out of warranty." Has anyone found a work-around for a missing receipt/proof of registration? We know the machine/charger/batteries are all date-coded, so they can easily confirm date of manufacture, but HD will not bother to work with that. But in some cases, Ryobi will:

Your RYOBI battery is covered under a three year limited warranty. Keep your receipt and share information found on your receipt with our customer service team if you ever need assistance. If a battery comes in a kit (with the tool and charger), no receipt is required. Call customer service (1-800-860-4050) with any battery issues.

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Warning - have all the chargers, batteries and machines physically in front of you when you call the line. They say replacements come within two weeks.

Yes, a warranty is a plus. Making equipment which does not have to be warrantied is a much better thing, because constant trips to HD or having equipment down waiting for replacements subtracts from the value of the purchase.

jack vines

Just a FWIW, spending so much time with getting replacements, the HD guy said he hears from Ryobi the #1 cause of charger failure is getting water in them. The tool is an outdoor machine, but leaving the charger plugged in outdoors when it rains or the sprinkler comes on is a bad thing. Seems obvious, but not to everyone, so I included it here.

Interesting.

My experience has been the opposite. I've got six 40V batteries and chargers, some I've had for 4 years. Zero problems. They hold a charge all winter. They get discharged frequently and repeatedly during chainsaw season.

Never had a problem w chargers, they stay on my shop wall and are plugged in 100% of the time.

I once needed parts for the bump feed trimmer head. Spoke w a nice woman in SC and they shipped them out promptly, no charge.

As for complying w the strict letter of any warranty, that should be a given in life, period.

Last black friday (2016) I bought a ryobi 40v blower for $99, I use it weekly at least once, its been flawless to date! Really impressed with it. I leave it plugged in and the battery in the charger and it has not failed me in over year of normal use.

Ign said:

Interesting.

My experience has been the opposite. I've got six 40V batteries and chargers, some I've had for 4 years. Zero problems. They hold a charge all winter. They get discharged frequently and repeatedly during chainsaw season.

Never had a problem w chargers, they stay on my shop wall and are plugged in 100% of the time.

I once needed parts for the bump feed trimmer head. Spoke w a nice woman in SC and they shipped them out promptly, no charge.

As for complying w the strict letter of any warranty, that should be a given in life, period.

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Same here. Trimmer, chainsaw, hedge trimmer, blower (don't buy the blower) and 3 batteries. All 2+ years old and performing like new. Also all were refurbs bought from HD.com, so maybe they got it right the second time around...

As always should note their are two versions of the 40V blower (I have no idea why). One is "normal," the other claims to use "Jet Fan Technology" LOL and has a clear surround allowing you to see the impeller. I have the latter and it's meh, ok.

My non-profit has also had the Xpand-It string trimmer for several years w two batteries and no problems aside from my aforementioned bump head feed issue which was resolved to our satisfaction.

My chainsaw was recon and I can say with virtually no doubt I have used the Ryobi 40V chainsaw more than any other customer - it does the bulk of my cutting each year on my 35 acres. I cut 3 to 5 cords a year depending on need and need of my neighbors and non-profit. Needless to say most of my cutting is limbing and small rounds.

Well, that not everyone has had as many failures gives me hope.

so maybe they got it right the second time around...

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I've noted two versions of the charger and three different versions of the batteries, so maybe they've got it right the third time around.

(don't buy the blower)

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FWIW, the blower is handy for fluffy snow of 1" or so. It clears sidewalks quicker than with a shovel. Just asking, what don't you like about yours?

jack vines

I've got the first versions of the chargers, they're thicker and have a "wall" on either side of the battery. I've seen the V2.0 which are slimmer. I was going to swap them on to my wall but in a stroke of genius for Ryobi (heavy sarcasm) the mounting holes are different.

The batteries have gone through numerous iterations (sometimes just changing the stickers/labeling) but they've all been solid for me from the older 2.4ah to the newer 2.6ah to the 3.0ah that came with my blower.

There are also 4.0's and 5.0's I've never used.

The V1 chargers were those which failed for me. Both replacements are V2

The replacement batteries I have are the same size/shape as those which failed. They don't seem to have an ampere/hour rating on the battery itself. They're both new this year.

jack

Packard V8 said:

The V1 chargers were those which failed for me. Both replacements are V2

The replacement batteries I have are the same size/shape as those which failed. They don't seem to have an ampere/hour rating on the battery itself. They're both new this year.

jack

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It'll have a wh rating on the sticker on the underside. You can do the math. IIRC (and I may not) I think you gotta divide by 36 'cause these are playing the game of "20V Max"

A 94 wh would be a 2.6. A 108 would be the 3.0, but every 3.0 I've seen proudly displays "3ah" in black on silver.

Bringing an old thread up-to-date. The magic smoke just let out of the replacement Ryobi 40-volt hedge trimmer motor.

Tip - save the original box, along with the receipts and registration. It makes the exchange go smoother.

First attempt, the Customer Service clerk scanned the bar code and said it doesn't show in their system. I said I'd just checked on line and there are a dozen on the shelf. He said to go find one and bring it back. I did and even though there was something different about the bar code, since the package was obviously an identical tool, the exchange went smoothly from there on.

jack vines

I have a limited number of Ryobi tools but have been impressed so far....not too many things left where you can get a local replacement.

Thanks
JG

Just had another 3-year-old 40-volt battery and charger go TU. Since this one was a present, I don't have the sales slip, so it's a dead duck.

FWIW, the charger which came with the latest hedge trimmer is 1/4 the size of the earlier version and the battery is physically smaller and only 2 AH versus 2.6 of the first generation.

Bottom line - The Ryobi 40-volt blower and hedge trimmers came as gifts from family members via Home Depot. At this point, I'd probably be better off mentally just junking them and going to another manufacturer.

jack vines